Inner Beauty Not Outward Ostentation

1 Peter 3:3 “Your beauty should not be from outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.”

            Lord, thank You that I have not had hair long enough to braid, have never had “fine” clothes or ostentatious gold jewelry.  We were never taught as children that those things were important or enviable.  My mother was beautiful inside and modeled that for us and all others around her.  She was patient, kind, loving, selfless, generous, industrious, and faithful to her church.  Lord, thank You for her example.

            Sadly, the world encourages…no, demands…that females and now males as well, show themselves off with a “tight sexy body” and fine clothes and jewelry so all around them will look at them and “worship” them.  I have seen Christian women compete with one another: spending hours in the beauty salon, spending hundreds, if not thousands, on make up and age defying creams and lotions, ruining their skin in tanning booths, and putting their husbands and families into debt to buy fine clothes and lots of them.

            Lord, we are to be presentable as we are Your ambassadors to the world, but when we become more concerned with others seeing us instead of You, therein lies the problem.  We are not to dress in a way that, like a flashing neon sign, says “Look at me!”  We are to draw people to You and glorify You, not try to obtain worship for ourselves.